Press Release

UNECE Energy Security Forum Report for G8 Summit Received by Russian Government

The Energy Security Forum1 (ESF),
under the auspices of the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE),
recently submitted the findings of its Study on Emerging Energy Security
Risks and Risk Mitigation in a Global Context to the Government of
the Russian Federation in preparation for the G8 Summit in St. Petersburg.

The report was prepared in response to the request of the Special Envoy
of President Vladimir Putin on International Energy Cooperation during the
2005 annual meeting of the Energy Security Forum. The ESF was requested to
provide conclusions and recommendations on global energy security issues as
a contribution to the discussions in the framework of the Russian Federation’s
leadership of the 2006 G-8 Summit Meeting.

The report concludes that global energy security risks have increased
sharply because of steeply rising oil import demand in developing
countries; the narrowing margin between oil supply and demand that has driven
up prices; the volatility of oil prices arising from international tensions,
terrorism and the potential for supply disruptions; the concentration of
known hydrocarbon reserves and resources in a limited number of the world’s
subregions; and the restricted access to oil and gas companies to the development
of hydrocarbon reserves in some countries.

It recommends that governments in producing and consuming countries can
mitigate these risks significantly by promoting investment in the energy sector
in order to meet future demand by providing the legal frameworks, regulatory
environments, tax incentives together with fair and transparent processes
to foster the public-private partnerships needed to promote and protect investments
in new oil and natural gas supplies and enhance the secondary recovery of
hydrocarbons.

As a first step in this process, the Energy Security Forum recommends
that G-8 governments launch a new multilateral producer-consumer
dialogue. It should be based on the interdependent interests of energy
producing and consuming nations and the need for reciprocal relations
between them within the framework of the United Nations Economic Commission
for Europe. The dialogue should be between representatives of governments,
energy industries, the financial community and relevant international
organizations in the following areas: a) data and information sharing
and increased transparency, b) infrastructure investment and financing,
c) legal, regulatory and policy framework, d) harmonization of standards
and practices, e) research, development and deployment of new technologies
and f) investment/transit safeguards and burden sharing.

For further information about the Energy Security Forum please consult
the UNECE website http://www.unece.org/ie or
contact: